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Boundaries

"BOUNDARIES" is a short film about borders - geographic, mental, and psychological. The film explores these boundaries in a way that we possess within ourselves, decoding the refugee crisis by probing questions of trust, prejudice and fear that govern our choices under such circumstances, invoking us in such a way that we seek the culprit in another, different and unknown.

Lead actors are children from Bosnia and a refugee boy from Iran cast in a camp on the border between Bosnia and Croatia. The story is about a Bosnian border policeman’s son and a Kurdish refugee boy who cross paths in the forest over a lost kite that flew over a border. After a skirmish, the kite breaks and children face challenges, overcome differences and construct a new kite. Meanwhile, their parent’s search for them unveils suspicions, uproots buried fears, erodes trust, and concludes in an unexpected bloody note.

  • Joshua Sternlicht
    Director
    Fool in a Bubble, Morin Khuur (The Horsehead Fiddle)
  • Joshua Sternlicht
    Writer
    A White Horse for Batavia
  • Xueli Han
    Writer
    Hotel Sedra, Morin Khuur (The Horsehead Fiddle)
  • Eyespot Films
    Producer
    Fool in a Bubble, Morin Khuur (The Horsehead Fiddle)
  • Relative Pictures
    Producer
    Sabina K
  • Amir Reza
    Key Cast
    "Olan"
    Hotel Sedra
  • Enes Salkovic
    Key Cast
    "Damir"
    Little Fighters
  • Belma Salkunić
    Key Cast
    "Fatima"
    Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo
  • Edin Avdagić
    Key Cast
    "Karam"
    Death in Sarajevo
  • Igor Skvarica
    Key Cast
    "Ibrahim"
    Legends
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, thriller, psychological, coming of age
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 2, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    37,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Language:
    Bosnian, English
  • Shooting Format:
    HDCAM Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Joshua Sternlicht

Eyespot Films creative founder, Joshua Sternlicht is director, producer, writer and educator whose films navigate the intersection between documentary and fiction. His films investigate germane issues including migration and climate change in profound and nuanced ways.

A two-time Story Circle fellow, Joshua’ s directorial film debut ‘Fool in a Bubble’ premiered at Durban International Film Festival 2010 and won Best Feature Film at the New York Documentary Film Festival. He has taught IB Film Studies at International School Manila and Shanghai Community International School. Joshua was recently a photographer at the VII agency in Warsaw, Poland and a Kodak Young Filmmakers Award recipient. Joshua holds a MA in visual art education from New York University and a BA in Film Studies at Columbia University.

Joshua has lived and worked in five countries including United States, Czech Republic, Philippines, China and Germany. His background as a Polish-American filmmaker, photographer and educator has enriched his international perspective evident in his work. Eyespot Films, his production company, is credited with international award winning films including ‘20,000 Cycles’ inspired by Nikola Tesla and ‘Fool in a Bubble’ exploring the struggles of South African apatheid poet /musician Syd Kitchen. Recently, Joshua has turned his focus towards directing fictional films in Bosnia and Mongolia.

With each incarnation, Joshua’s mission has been to create and share deeply personal, entertaining, and cinematic stories. His background as both filmmaker and educator imparts a unique understanding of how story and causal intent can be juxtaposed in salient ways. In addition to his creative and educational work, he's a committed advocate for the environment. As a charter member of Charity: Water, he helped educate young students about the benefits of climate, water and energy action.

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Director Statement

Boundaries is a short film with two parallel stories which juxtapose refugees and locals, adults and kids, nature and nurture, freedom and constraints. A lost kite crosses boundaries into a refugee camp sparking a feud between a local and refugee boy.
Consequentially, children and adults dually face issues of trust and fear separately.

From different reactions to crisis, the film inspires deeper thoughts and questions around the boundaries of humanity: Can we really give trust to outsiders? Where did it start and where did it end? At the same time, the film triggers citizens of developed countries to reflect on the long term refugee/migrant issue: Is the so-called boundary in reality or in the mind and heart? Is there anything close to equal opportunity? How shall we face life when growing up surrounded by death?

Lead child actor, Amir Reza, plays the role of ‘Olan’ is a refugee from Kurdistan, Iran whom the director cast in refugee border camp in Bihać, Bosnia. The choice of shooting and working with cast/crew in Bosnia with its own refugee crises in the 90’s shows how migration has a stark, ironic reality. Irrefutably, the film elicits some veiled questions about refugees welcome, increasing human migration, and globalization in context to increasing populism and nationalism.